Classic Floors, Inc. v. Guy, 1461-88-4
| Decision Date | 19 September 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 1461-88-4,1461-88-4 |
| Parties | CLASSIC FLOORS, INC., et al. v. Roger B. GUY. Record |
| Court | Virginia Court of Appeals |
Lynn Murphy Tucker (Ralph L. Whitt, Jr., Sands, Anderson, Marks & Miller, Richmond, on brief), for appellants.
Bruce K. Billman (Rice, Stallknecht, Billman & Meyer, Woodbridge, on brief), for appellee.
Present: KOONTZ, C.J., and BENTON and DUFF, JJ.
Classic Floors, Inc., appeals from a decision of the Industrial Commission reversing the deputy commissioner and awarding temporary total benefits to Roger B. Guy. Classic Floors contends that the commission erred in (1) refusing to consider whether Guy was an employee or independent contractor, that issue having been assigned as error in Classic Floor's responsive brief but resolved in Guy's favor by the deputy commissioner and not appealed by the employer; and (2) finding that Guy suffered an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment. We conclude that the commission committed no error, and we affirm the decision.
Roger Guy began work for Classic Floors as a floor refinisher in August, 1986. Classic Floors routinely issued the daily work assignments to Guy and its other workers and provided transportation to the job site in company trucks. Classic Floors also dictated certain aspects of job performance, including the number of times the floors should be sanded, when to break for lunch, and when to break for the day. Guy was paid by the square foot and used his own hand tools on the job. Although he was labeled a subcontractor and was responsible for his own taxes and insurance, he did not have his own contractor's license. Moreover, while employed by Classic Floors, Guy did not work for any other company.
On September 10, 1986, Guy was lifting a floor sander weighing approximately two hundred pounds into a truck when he felt a pull in his back and experienced pain. The pain became progressively worse over the next five days. Guy informed Classic Floors of the continuing discomfort and made arrangements to visit Dr. Richard Orlin on September 15. Dr. Orlin's office notes reflect that Guy lifted a very heavy sander at work and experienced leg cramps.
Guy sought treatment at the Veteran's Administration Hospital ten days later. The various medical reports documenting Guy's treatment at the VA Hospital do not refer to a specific incident which gave rise to Guy's symptoms. Instead, they document Guy's history of prior back complaints and the heavy manual labor involved in his job. An October 7, 1986, chiropractic center record, however, described Guy's ailment as follows: In addition, a subsequent letter dated January 20, 1988, from Dr. Hanwehr, chief of neurosurgery of the Veterans Administration Medical Center, stated that "[t]he heavy lifting incident of 9/86 had clearly been the predisposing traumatic event which without question in my professional judgement led to a major L5/S1 offset."
Although Classic Floors defended the claim on the ground that Guy was an independent contractor, the deputy commissioner found from the evidence that Guy was an employee within the meaning of the Workers' Compensation Act. The deputy commissioner also found, however, that Guy failed to establish that he suffered an industrial accident. Although Guy appealed, Classic Floors did not appeal to the full commission from the ruling regarding Guy's employment status. Instead, Classic Floors raised Guy's employment status as an issue in its responsive brief. On review, the commission determined that Classic Floors did not timely appeal the deputy commissioner's finding that Guy was an employee of Classic Floors, and the commission limited its consideration to whether Guy had established an injury by accident and, if so, the extent of his disability. Finding that the evidence adequately established an injury by accident on September 10, 1986, the commission reversed the deputy commissioner's denial of benefits.
Classic Floors advances two reasons why the commission erred in refusing to consider the question of Guy's employment status on review. Classic Floors first points out that the commission's Rule 2(A) is directed to procedural requirements for applications for review and that no statute or rule precludes a party from raising an issue outside the twenty day time limit through assignment of cross error. 1 Second, Classic Floors asserts that the issue of Guy's employment status was jurisdictional and could not be waived through a failure to appeal that issue in a timely manner. We find no merit to either contention.
In Brushy Ridge Coal Co. v. Blevins, 6 Va.App. 73, 367 S.E.2d 204 (1988), this court recognized that the Industrial Commission, having the right to make and enforce rules, should also have the opportunity to construe its own rules. Id. at 78 n. 2, 367 S.E.2d at 206 n. 2. Consequently, our review is limited to a determination whether the commission's interpretation of its own rule was reasonable.
The commission treated Classic Floors' raising of the issue of Guy's employment status by way of responsive brief as a request for review of this issue. It refused to consider the question because it was not raised in a timely manner. We cannot say that the position adopted by the commission was unreasonable. The issue that Classic Floors failed to appeal but sought to raise in its responsive brief was not germane to the issues before the commission. Guy's appeal, which was timely filed, required the commission to review the deputy commissioner's rulings only with respect to the issues of injury by accident and the extent of Guy's disability. Guy's employment status bore no logical nexus to the analysis required to determine whether an injury by accident had been proved and, if so, the extent of disability. In the absence of a timely appeal, the Workers' Compensation Act does not require the commission to review each ruling made by the deputy commissioner whenever a respondent asserts that the deputy commissioner erred in a ruling that is unrelated to the issues on appeal. The question whether Guy was an employee or independent contractor had been controverted at the evidentiary hearing and ruled upon, adversely to...
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Sentara Leigh Hosp. v. Nichols, 1751-90-1
...of and in the course of employment is a mixed question of law and fact and is properly reviewable on appeal. See Classic Floors, Inc. v. Guy, 9 Va.App. 90, 383 S.E.2d 761 (1989); Park Oil Co. v. Parham, 1 Va.App. 166, 336 S.E.2d 531 "The phrases arising 'out of' and arising 'in the course o......
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Diaz v. WILDERNESS RESORT ASS'N
...and capricious." Boyd v. People, Inc., 43 Va.App. 82, 86-87, 596 S.E.2d 100, 102-03 (2004) (quoting Classic Floors, Inc. v. Guy, 9 Va. App. 90, 93, 383 S.E.2d 761, 763 (1989)). As to issues of statutory although "the practical construction given to a statute by public officials charged with......
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Norfolk Admirals and Federal Insurance Company v. Jones, Record No. 0050-05-4 (VA 11/1/2005), Record No. 0050-05-4.
...evidence, [(1)] an injury by accident which arose [(2)] out of and [(3)] in the course of his employment." Classic Floors, Inc. v. Guy, 9 Va. App. 90, 95, 383 S.E.2d 761, 764 (1989); see also Code § 65.2-101. Employer argues that because claimant was the aggressor in voluntary combat, the i......
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Boyd v. People, Inc., Record No. 1910-03-3.
...is limited to a determination of whether the commission's interpretation of its own rule was reasonable." Classic Floors, Inc. v. Guy, 9 Va.App. 90, 93, 383 S.E.2d 761, 763 (1989). We will not set aside the commission's interpretation of its rules unless that interpretation is arbitrary and......